The Fitter Master in the Courtyard: Surrounded by Dead Men

Because Yang Ping had never disappointed him, while Yi Zhonghai always made him anxious and worried.

The previous batch of non-standard parts suffered a loss rate as high as 60%, which was caused by Yi Zhonghai. As a result, Lü Shuitian was scolded by Factory Director Yang to the point of being unable to lift his head.

He never dared to tell Yi Zhonghai, "I'll take responsibility," about this batch of parts.

The fear is that we will repeat the same mistakes.

"Okay, then I'll take a piece to try first."

Yang Ping said.

He was aware of the difficulty of handling unfamiliar parts. After all, he hadn't reached the level of an eighth-grade worker yet, so he didn't dare to take them all in one batch—if the success rate was less than 80%, it would cause a huge mess for the factory.

Lu Shuitian steeled his resolve, gritted his teeth, and said:

"Don't try them one by one, just take a batch and train them directly."

"I'll cover the losses!"

Since handing it over to Yi Zhonghai is a gamble anyway, it's better to give this opportunity to Yang Ping, a promising talent, so that he can stabilize his skills and improve his success rate.

"Okay!"

Yang Ping readily agreed.

With Lü Shuitian's words as a guarantee, he could use this batch of unusual parts to practice his skills—such a good opportunity was naturally not something to be shy about.

Lu Shuitian turned around and took out a batch of unusual parts from the warehouse, handing them to Yang Ping.

Yang Ping picked up the special parts blueprint and headed to the workbench with the materials.

After hesitating for a moment, Lü Shuitian still followed.

"Master Yang,"

He said, "I'll go and see how you polish it."

"Okay, Director Lü."

Yang Ping responded.

He knew that Lü Shuitian was worried, after all, this was the first time he had dealt with such an unusual part, and its success or failure was of great importance.

Upon reaching the machine, Yang Ping first composed himself before unfolding the blueprints and studying them carefully.

Lu Shuitian stood quietly behind him, even holding her breath, afraid of disturbing his concentration.

Xie Quancai and the others craned their necks to get a closer look from a distance, but were all stopped by a single glance from Lü Shuitian.

At this crucial moment of being promoted to the eighth-level fitter, not a single mistake can be made.

Seeing this, the group had no choice but to suppress their curiosity and return to their posts to do their work.

Yang Ping was engrossed in the drawings, and after about ten minutes, he had memorized all the dimensions and parameters.

He raised his hand to adjust the machine's travel and then checked the status of each piece of equipment one by one, his movements smooth and steady.

After confirming that everything was correct, he secured the material properly and started the machine.

The grinding wheel turned gently, and the faint hiss of metal contacting the tool could be heard in the workshop.

Lu Shuitian stood guard nearby, his eyes constantly scanning the surroundings, wary of anyone suddenly approaching.

He had never shown this level of caution to Yi Zhonghai, but now he was placing it all on Yang Ping.

Time ticked by, and after more than half an hour, Yang Ping shut down the machine.

He let out a long sigh of relief and carefully removed the part from the jig.

This task was more challenging than expected, with extremely fine margins of error. He had been on tenterhooks every moment, fearing that the slightest tremor in his hand would ruin everything.

He picked up the measuring tools and checked each section one by one.

After completing the final measurement, he put down his tools and slowly straightened up.

Lü Shuitian immediately approached, his voice low:

"Master Yang, how is it?"

Lu Shuitian finally breathed a sigh of relief, his voice trembling slightly.

"Director, the level is average, and all requirements are met."

Yang Ping spoke calmly, and then gently handed the part to Lü Shuitian.

"Great! Excellent!"

Lu Shuitian's eyes suddenly lit up, and he eagerly took the part, holding it up to his eyes to examine it closely.

The flowing luster on the surface and the distinct edges revealed meticulous craftsmanship, making it far more beautiful than the works Yi Zhonghai had previously produced.

With just one glance, he was already completely confident.

"Master Yang, this is really great... We finally have a solution for all those tough, irregularly shaped parts that we'll be working on in the workshop from now on."

He was so excited that he was almost incoherent. He subconsciously wanted to step forward and pat the other person on the shoulder, but when he saw Yang Ping take a half step back without making a sound, he awkwardly withdrew his hand.

"Director Lü, this time it might just be a lucky break. It might not go so smoothly next time."

Yang Ping spoke at the opportune moment, leaving room for maneuver in his tone.

"Sixty percent! As long as you can maintain a passing rate of sixty percent, that's enough."

Lu Shuitian said firmly.

Polishing these special parts is inherently difficult, so the standards are naturally more lenient, unlike the demanding perfection required for ordinary workpieces.

"If that's the case... then I'll do my best."

Yang Ping nodded slightly.

With this leeway, the pressure on his shoulders was significantly reduced.

"Alright, then you can rest for today. We can finish the rest of the work tomorrow."

After saying this, Lü Shuitian turned around and quickly left the room.

He had to report this to Director Yang immediately and figure out how to get another reward for Yang Ping.

From now on, those tricky, oddly shaped parts in Workshop One will probably have a new owner to handle them.

As for Yi Zhonghai? Let him go wherever he can find peace and quiet, and stop getting in the way.

After watching the director walk away, Xie Quancai and several coworkers immediately gathered around, asking all at once, "How did it go, Yang Ping? Did it work out?"

"Master Yang, have those special parts been dealt with?"

The long wait had almost exhausted everyone's patience, and the question finally came out.

"It's done."

A faint smile flickered across Yang Ping's lips.

"Excellent!"

"Congratulations on being promoted to Level 8 technician, Master Yang!"

"Master Yang is truly a young talent!"

"That's right, compared to that, Yi Zhonghai is nothing."

"That's absolutely amazing, Master Yang."

A twenty-year-old level eight skilled worker—you probably couldn't find another like him anywhere else in the world.

The surrounding cheers were a mix of amazement, envy, and heartfelt congratulations.

Thank you everyone.

Yang Ping nodded with a smile, then reminded him:

"It's getting late, time to collect this month's salary."

Today is the day to pay wages, and we absolutely cannot delay it.

All the accumulated rewards from before will probably amount to no less than 300 yuan, plus a considerable amount of food coupons.

"Oh dear, I almost forgot about that!"

"Hurry up, let's get in line!"

The crowd then realized what was happening and set off.

Led by Yang Ping, the group arrived at the payroll distribution room specially set up for Workshop 1.

Each workshop has its own window, and senior technicians have a separate entrance, so the queues are naturally much shorter.

"Master Yang!"

As soon as Yang Ping appeared, greetings arose one after another, and every face was filled with enthusiasm.

Hello everyone.

He didn't know most of them—it's normal not to know everyone in the workshop of a thousand people.

He simply nodded in acknowledgment.

"Come on, Mr. Yang, you can go ahead of me in line."

Yang Ping silently walked to the end of the line, about to wait in order, when the people in front of him immediately stepped aside to make way for him.

"No need, there aren't many people. I'll just wait at the back of the line."

He politely declined.

But the other person insisted on leaving the queue and turned to walk away.

"Master Yang, come here."

"Master Yang, please move forward; there aren't many people here anyway."

"I'll give it to Master Yang too."

Seeing this, everyone followed suit, one after another leaving the front line and moving to the back.

Seeing this, Yang Ping could only smile helplessly.

Having no chance to refuse, he had no choice but to step forward.

He knew in his heart that if he insisted on staying at the end, these people would probably move to the back as well.

Pushing and yielding back and forth can easily disrupt order; it's better to just go along with everyone's wishes.

In the blink of an eye, he was already in third place in the team.

Looking up, he saw that the person in front of him hadn't turned around to let him pass, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Upon closer inspection, the familiar crew-cut figure was none other than Yi Zhonghai, and it became clear why the other party had remained silent.

Speaking of which, Yi Zhonghai is quite eager to collect his salary, and has even managed to squeeze into second place.

My gaze shifted slightly, and there was another person in line, Jia Dongxu, who was second in line at another window—he wasn't a senior fitter, so he was waiting at a different window.

These two, master and apprentice, even had to fight side by side to get the money first.

Yang Ping stood quietly in place, continuing to wait.

"Master Yang, come here, stand here with me!"

After a short pause, the person in front of Yi Zhonghai suddenly turned around and gave up his seat.

"Really, you don't need to. I'm fine here."

Yang Ping quickly waved his hand.

Unexpectedly, the other person reached out and gently pushed him forward, while quickly walking to the back of the line.

He shook his head and chuckled, never expecting to be pushed to the front of the line in the blink of an eye.

At this time, the finance department staff were still making preparations and had not yet started distributing salaries; they would have to wait a little longer.

Yang Ping's gaze swept past the jealous look from the window next door—Jia Dongxu was staring intently in their direction.

He raised the corners of his mouth slightly and turned his face away.

Yang Ping could feel the gloomy gaze behind him without even turning around.

Yi Zhonghai's face at this moment must have been as dark and gloomy as the sky before a storm.

As he predicted, things turned out just as he expected.

Yi Zhonghai stood in the crowd, a feeling of pent-up frustration welling up inside him.

He had never experienced such a scene in his life—even though he was already one of the factory's top eight fitters.

Yet Yang Ping, this young man, has only been in the factory for a few years, and he has already earned such natural respect.

When he gets food, people ask him to stand at the front; when he goes to the toilet, people politely make way for him; and now, even when he receives his wages, everyone consciously makes room for him at the very front.

Every time Yi Zhonghai thought of this, he felt the fire in his heart rise even higher.

Is it just about teaching people some skills? If Yi Zhonghai wanted to, what difficulty would it be for him to instruct a few level seven or eight fitters? He just doesn't bother to show off.

Of course, this thought only lingered in my mind.

Is it really possible for him to impart all his knowledge and skills to train another level-eight worker? Absolutely not.

That would be tantamount to undermining his own position, and Yi Zhonghai would never do such a foolish thing that harms himself for the benefit of others.

"Master Yang, your wages for this month are 332.5 yuan."

Eighty catties of grain coupons, please take a look.

A female colleague from the finance department walked over with the payroll book in her hand. When she saw that Yang Ping was at the head of the line, she went straight up to her, her tone filled with familiar respect.

Nowadays, almost everyone in the factory knows this young master.

"Yes, thank you for your help."

Yang Ping glanced at it briefly and had already calculated the approximate number in his mind.

My salary plus the bonus from a few days ago is about this amount, and the food coupons match.

Next month, there shouldn't be so many.

A murmur of gasps and whispers rose from the surroundings.

"Over three hundred yuan! That's all Master Yang earns in a month?"

"Are you confused? This includes the reward."

Even so, it's still truly astonishing...

"There are still eighty catties of grain coupons left!"

"Who can blame him but Master Yang? He's young, highly skilled, and an expert at training apprentices. He personally trained all three of the factory's level seven workers."

"If you ask me, this reward is too little; it should be more."

Amidst whispers, envy, admiration, and sighs intertwined, forming an invisible net that gently enveloped the window where wages were being distributed.

The jealousy in Jia Dongxu's eyes was almost overflowing.

He thought that his master's monthly salary of ninety-nine yuan was the highest he could ever earn, and that apart from the few leaders in the factory, no one else could surpass that amount.

Who would have thought that Yang Ping would get much more than his master?

Yi Zhonghai's face also darkened.

In the workshop, he was the only one with the eighth-level fitter qualification. On paydays, his coworkers would always look at him with amazement and envy.

But now the situation is different. Yang Ping has appeared out of nowhere, such a prodigy, whose wages and bonuses are more than three times that of him, completely stealing the glory that should have belonged to him.

"Everyone, let's work harder and have more opportunities in the future."

Yang Ping stuffed the stack of bills into his pocket, offered a few words of comfort to the crowd, and then turned and left.